When Heroes are Wanted Men
by Titania Le Fey
Summary: A series of stories describing the effects of Directive 17 on Snake and Hauk and how it changes thier relationship. This is an ongoing story so I will be adding many more chapters over time
1. The Wanted Man

Snake sat in the bar nursing one of the worst drinks he had ever tasted. Since the Directive was passed everything had gone to shit, even the alcohol. Robertson's nightly list was being read off on the TV. It was all the people that were accused of committing unforgivable crimes. His picture always seemed to be the first but tonight there was a surprise for Snake. Sipping his drink he heard the TV as a background drone until it shook him to the point he almost dropped his glass.

"Robert Hauk, Ex-Police Commissioner of the Manhattan Island Maximum Security Prison has been convicted in absentee of 15 moral crimes including abandonment of a life term post."

Snake stared at the TV like one might if somehow part of their dream had leaked into reality. It wasn't possible. The news team went on about his service and Snake glance toward the door almost expecting Hauk to stroll into the Snake Pit to get a drink with the rest of the criminals. His eye flashed back to the TV. There was no way this was possible or was it?

Snake wasn't sure he wanted to know as he slammed the rest of his drink down. The burning and foul taste made him certain he was awake. This wasn't a dream. Plissken wasn't sure what to make of it or what to do. What can a man do when his enemy suddenly changes to his side? It was completely beyond Snake's ability to process while intoxicated. No, he really didn't think being sober would help either.

Plissken stood and looked toward the door wondering if Hauk was still and enemy or if he had truly turned. Snake had to know where Hauk stood and the only way to find that out was to hunt the man down.


	2. A Needle in a Haystack

Snake had watched the report the past two nights and his name was still there. Hauk was a criminal. In the meantime he had scoured the streets for leads. Jersey was close enough to New York that someone may have seen him. Snake doubted even Hauk would head out to the anarchy of the northwest and LA wasn't his scene. That left south which would have led him right through Jersey.

It was a gamble and eventually it paid off. A gas dealer had seen a man of the commissioner's description heading south on 295. Plissken just needed to catch up. Washington DC would likely be his first stop down the coast and that was where Snake headed. Snake hadn't been there since the first time he was decorated in the military. Years, more then a decade, had passed since the last trip and Plissken wondered what that meant for the heart of the nation or it was before that prick in office moved the capitol to Lynchburg.

Washington DC was like eye candy to Snake once he arrived. Never had he seen so many bars, whorehouses…. And LA was worse then this? Snake couldn't imagine anything more sinful then what he saw on these streets. Plissken shook the feeling and changed his perspective. If he wanted to find the man he'd have to think like him.

Think like Hauk. The thought left a bad taste in Snake's mouth because all he could see was the balckbelly behind the desk preparing to betray him. Still it wasn't difficult. Hauk would need a place to stay and like Snake he smoked and drank heavily but he wouldn't go to a whore house to find those things like Snake would consider. That still left hundreds of choices.

The crowded streets frustrated Plissken and he found a place to stow his humvee near the Lincoln memorial. This was a task better handled on foot anyway. Snake wasn't uncomfortable on the streets but the sheer mass of people disturbed him. There were too many people to watch both for the man he sought and those that might be seeking him for something unpleasant.

Slowly his nerves wound tighter as the night progressed. He had to have a drink before his head burst from the presence of the masses around him. The pressure alleviated only a measure when he ducked into a nearly empty bar. The people were still outside, all of them and they could all follow him inside. Plissken's paranoia hit fevered pitch as he got a drink and made his way to the darkest spot he could find. He knew he needed to calm down.

Snake took a long drink before leaning his head back against the wall. It was cool stone and comforting in the August heat. A deep relaxing breath filled his lungs and he exhaled forcing away his thoughts of being followed. It was hard to shake, it always was. The twitching pain of his eye didn't make it any easier. Poison rain was coming. His eye never lied and that would mean soon he wouldn't be able to search. Snake picked up his drink and looked back out on the bar to see a man on the far stool drawing what looked like a submachine gun from under the bar. The barrel came to bear on Snake and he dropped the drink making for the door as screaming people and bullets started moving through the bar.

His eye never lies. He needed to remember that about his paranoia now it seemed. Snake shoved his way through the crowd and out the door. This wasn't what he needed, not again. His boots pounded the concrete but it still didn't stop the bullets and they forced him to take cover in a doorway before he got shot.

On the brightside the streets were clear now just like Plissken had wanted them. Now he wished the people were back and this lunatic was gone. Drawing his revolver Snake glanced around the corner. The man was at least partially gas crazy. Snake knew that look but who the fuck let a crazy get his hands on a gun. Obviously they needed their head examined for this piece of madness.

Snake needed to get out of the doorway before the crazy with the gun got to close and he couldn't make a break for it. The wide sparsely built streets didn't give Snake such a good feeling about running but what choice did he have. Pulling back the hammers on both revolvers the Snake braced himself for the run of his life. If he could make the trees on next block he could get away. He took a deep breath and took off for a stone fence whose pillars would offer some cover while he caught his breath.

As soon as Plissken appeared the bullets started once again ricocheting off of everything around him. He was almost there when a rogue bullet caught his hip. The pain was unbearable as Snake stumbled into the wall. No man could contain the cry from a large caliber bullet biting into his flesh, not even Plissken. He dropped one of his revolvers as the pain shot into his body like burning fire. Snake's head connected with the wrought iron and he clung to it to stay on his feet.

Snake turned gun ready to face the crazy with the gun. Only twenty feet separated them and Snake felt cornered. His eye watched the man trying to deduce what he should do; shoot or run. Someone else made the decision. A clear bang of another revolver pierced the quiet streets. Snake pressed back behind the lip of the granite pillar. There were too many guns but the crazy lay dead. Whomever shot him was a crack, a sniper someone with training. The hole was right in the temple, a hard shot even for a good gunslinger.

A breath passed as Snake listened but everything was drowned by his frantic pulse. He still didn't hear anything on the streets. Plissken grabbed his revolver from the ground and made his way toward the crazy but his eye was locked on the end of the street the shot had come from. His eye was searching for the killer but he couldn't see anything in the dim light of the setting sun. Plissken came to a stop over the crazy and he took his gun slinging it over his shoulder.

Light caught Plissken's eye from the doorway where he had stood a few moments earlier. It was a match in someone's hand and though he couldn't see any features he knew that person was watching him. It made his skin crawl. Quickly, his eye took in the streets before he started hobbling toward the doorway. Curiosity and fear played havoc in Snake's mind as he approached the man now puffing on a smoke in the dark. He wore black cowboy boots and black pants but Snake still couldn't make out the upper half outside of the cigarette's dancing cherry and the smoke trailing into the light.

Suddenly the man shifted and Snake froze in his tracks. The cigarette came out sailing and bouncing across the street. Plissken wasn't sure if he should be readying for a draw from the dark but the silver shine on his belt said that the revolver remained holstered. Snake cocked his head and took another step trying to get any features on the figure.

"Did you come to shoot me Snake?"

Snake's eye went wide but he kept moving unable to believe who he'd just heard, who had just shot the crazy and saved his life. Another match struck on the wall and came up to the face; the glow was cupped behind his hands. Smoke trailed out and when the face turned up once again the light from the match was all he needed to confirm the voice. It was Hauk.


	3. The Rain is Coming

Snake paused in front of the door watching Hauk step into the light.

"It's going to rain." Hauk stated with certainty.

Snake nodded glaring up at the sky. You learned to know on instinct when the rain was coming. It was always the same, acid rain laced with poison gas. It burned, blinded and took your mind. Everyone quickly learned to avoid it or they went crazy and died. Hauk and Snake had both learned to avoid it on the battlefield.

"What are you doing here Plissken?" Hauk questioned him between puffs still eying the sky nervously.

"Looking for someone." Snake answered letting his steel gaze study Hauk for a moment.

"Who?" The expression on the ex-commissioner's face confirmed he already knew the answer to his own question.

"You." Snake responded as he scanned the streets. Maybe this was all a set up. The government put Hauk out here on purpose knowing Snake would hunt him down. Snake shook the thoughts because they were even more absurd the idea that Hauk was a government outlaw.

Robert began to study Plissken and it left him with a paranoid feeling rising inside. Hauk's eyes always felt like they were boring into the soul when his stare became intent.

"Why?" Hauk finally questioned after taking the last drag from his smoke. Snake watched the cigarette fall to the concrete and his boot crushing the life from the cherry. Why had he come to look for Hauk? Part of it was he needed to know whether he had a kept an enemy or had a shot at a new ally. There was more then that but Snake shrugged it off.

"Whose side you on?"

Hauk glanced at the sky once more. "Mine."

What had Snake really expected him to say? That he was on his side, Hauk, his enemy, had become a staunch ally. It wasn't likely. Snake lit a cigarette of his own feeling the cravings hit from the lingering smoke but his eye was fixed down the street. There were lights dancing in their direction causing Snake to squint in the fading light.

"I got to go." Snake mumbled half to himself as he identified the lights. They were crazies with torches. Hauk joined Snake watching the crowd swarming in the street. Plissken wasn't going to wait for them to get closer. He started hobbling backwards away from them and readying himself for the run back to his vehicle on a mangled leg. The banging started and it was time to go.

"Come on." He motioned for Hauk to follow when he started hobbling as fast as the wound would allow his legs to carry him. Hauk started to run when the screeching mob flooded along the stone fence. Snake glanced back when he made it to the lawn but Hauk was gone.

Snake had no time to think as he yanked open the door and climbed in. He turned the key in the ignition and threw it in reverse tearing the grass as he went. He could see the crazies had turned in the other direction but it was the gunshots that drew his attention.

Plissken really wasn't sure why he was driving toward the man and his gunshots. He just did it like a glider sailing to its homing beacon of its own accord. There was part of his mind flashing back to the war. He'd saved Hauk, rescued him long in the past from madness. It was a much different sort of insanity back then but the syndrome made exceptions for faulty details.

Snake crashed the vehicle through the crowd as the window slid down.

"Hauk!" He yelled over the animalistic sounds threatening to drown out even the rumbling diesel engine.

"Lieutenant!" It was that slip again like back in New York. Hauk had called him soldier then but it was much the same as this. Did Hauk know of his condition or was it a slip into his own past? Snake pondered the question as he careened through the flailing bodies.

He didn't even stop. Plissken knew better and Hauk was still deft enough to jump into the vehicle while it continued to move. The sound of the door closing was accompanied by and exchange of curious even confused glances between the men.

Snake pushed the gas pedal to the floor when he saw the newly arriving company. USPF forces were coming to subdue the crazies and Hauk and Snake were sitting between the two groups. Both were crazy and deadly just some jackass gave one group automatics.

"Bullets?"

"Glove box." Snake answered quickly while his eye danced between mirrors and the on coming vehicles.

"Buckle up." Snake warned as the hummer lurched and revved into overdrive. Hauk obeyed but Snake knew it was more for his own life then listening to him.

Hauk glanced up knowing exactly what was about to happen. Bob stopped loading his revolver and braced himself for the impact. Plissken's escapes had always seemed dangerous from the other side, sitting next to him they were downright madness.

The impact came and even braced and ready Hauk nearly hit his head. The vehicle that had failed Plissken's game of chicken spun out, smoking as theirs continued forward.

Snake expertly tamed the rocking hummer and even took a second to look over at Hauk with a happy smile. Bob had heard reports that Plissken was out of his mind, now he was starting to believe them.

Once they were in the clear again Hauk resumed loading his revolvers. He and Snake used the same caliber weapons and Hauk figured military training had stuck well with both of them. Silence remained after Hauk holstered his weapon. It was a long, dead quiet except for the rumbling engine.

"Where were you headed?" Snake's voice startled Hauk who was staring out into the darkness beyond the passenger's side window. He recovered quickly noticing the first drops of rain hitting the windshield. Those drops were more deadly then arsenic and Hauk was relieved to hear the air filtration system kick on.

"Cronenberg."

Snake nodded still staring forward at the road. "Virginia?"

Hauk took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Two days ago."

"You want to bust him out?"

Hauk couldn't fight the shock this time. Virginia was almost as bad as New York Maximum. You went in and stayed in. No one ever got out except… Hauk looked over at the only man to escape from, not one, but all three of the prisons that held that title. Nothing seemed to be escape-proof when it came to Plissken.

"How?" Hauk asked. For the first time since Rehme smuggled him off of Liberty Island he felt hopeful in this bleak landscape.

"I got out. Got to be easier to get back in."

Snake's words were nonchalant like someone who had spoke of completing an everyday task. Hauk shook his head and chuckled under his breath. He was about to follow the madman back to his asylum. Suddenly, Hauk's mind had a realization. Sanity was futile out here on this side of the fence. The government kept up the façade that things had barely changed. Hauk had bought into it for his own comfort but out here it fell apart. The streets were filled with madness and to survive one had to be like Plissken, just a little more insane then everyone else who walked them. It was hardly a comforting thought as Hauk turned his attention back to the darkness outside.


	4. Unexpected Payments

18 hours had passed since Snake suggested they break into hell. During that time Hauk had drifted in and out of sleep during the long drive but Plissken was wired. Travel always took longer now with crazies and roadblocks and gangs. For the most part Hauk had just sat inside and watched the madness roll by through the windshield like he was watching TV. Snake took care of everything with quick and deadly efficiency. A strange dynamic had built up in the silence. Hauk watched and directed, Snake reported what he planned and executed it flawlessly before returning. It was just like in the military. Somehow they had slipped back into old habits. Robert didn't know how Snake felt or if he noticed but the idea made his skin crawl.

The day wore on to a new night and Plissken finally slowed pulling down a dirt road. Bob couldn't shake the feelings that he was being led to his death. Plissken may have saved him from the crazies but Hauk knew he served his vengeance slow and colder then a corpse. It wasn't hard to imagine Snake rescuing someone just so he could have the pleasure of killing them later. It was madness and he tried to shake the paranoia as Snake pulled the Hummer up behind a low brick building. Hauk stepped out into the chest high weeds trying to figure out what was going down.

"Where are we?" Hauk questioned attempting to hide his suspicion.

"I'm starving." Was Plissken's response as he disappeared around the front of the building. The commissioner had long since passed starving. He was used to three meals a day back in New York but the once every few days or when you could steal something was getting to Hauk. He felt tired and couldn't rest. To his mind it made Plissken's drive and ability to go on seem even more outlandish then it usually did.

Hauk followed but his eyes scanned the dark. He had every confidence in Snake's skill but trust was a whole other matter. The building was dirty with no windows and one massive metal door. It reminded Bob of a long forgotten military bunker as he watched his companion knock hastily on the door. At the moment military war front food would due if that was what was inside.

The door cracked open and Snake disappeared inside amongst hushed voices. Hauk followed suspicious but confident. If this was a set up he wanted to be ready. His eyes took in the surroundings before settling on the attractive middle aged woman already speaking to Plissken in quiet tones. They both glanced sidelong at Hauk and he felt the paranoia edge back. When it came down to it Hauk trusted Snake less then he would a crazy. At least in all the insanity they were predictable, Snake on the other hand was a double-dealing outlaw with more bite then a stirred up rattlesnake. How anyone was comfortable in his presence eluded Hauk but he could play the game of mock confidence with the best.

The voices of Snake and his companion rose and Hauk could hear Plissken asking for food and rooms. The word "hotel" caught his attention in the syrupy words of the woman. This was a hotel? The ex-commissioner once more looked over his surroundings. Whatever they called it at least it was better then sleeping in the streets but not by much.

The men were ushered into a room with a few chairs and a long worn couch. Hauk took up position in a large arm chair with a good view of the room and all the doors. His uneasiness with his companion was still tensing his nerves to the breaking point. His vigilance turned to Plissken. He was stretching out lazily on the couch like some lounging cat in the shadows. He watches his hands flex as he leaned back pushing the pillow under his neck. For Hauk it would have been easy to imagine those stretching fingers terminating in claws and the thought was unsettling as was the half growl that accompanied Plissken settling into the cushions. It was like being trapped in a room with a wild animal, a tiger or a lion that was half starved. Hauk didn't care for where his mind was going and turned his attention to a gaudy piece of artwork across the room.

Moments passed and Hauk finally settled his nerves to a manageable level when the opening door startled them back to a fever pitch. A scantily clad girl appeared in the darkened doorway with a tray. Aromas preceded her across the room tensing Hauk's stomach into a knot. He was too hungry. Ignoring the pangs he observed the way the place worked.

A woman had joined Plissken in a chair nearby, she was pretty enough, not particularly Hauk's type but then he had a feeling she wasn't meant for his eyes. The lion analogy filtered back in as Bob watched the presentation. Snake had first pick of the tray and was poured a drink by deft hands obviously used to serving meals. The woman who was watching was served and finally the waitress as she seemed to be made her way to Hauk offering him the remaining food. The plate was a surprise. It was stacked high with carved meat. There were other things on the plate but Hauk found himself ignoring them.

"Roast beef?" He muttered under his breath as his mind finally placed the smell wafting from the plate he grateful took from the serving tray. The girl nodded and disappeared through the door she had used to arrive. Bob couldn't remember the last time he had eaten prepared food. For so long everything had come from a can or a packet.

He savored the first bite but his companion seemed to have already emptied his plate before Hauk looked up. Street life was what he attributed to the way Plissken ate. Hauk took another bite mounding potatoes and meat onto the fork. Plissken was stretching again and the woman was leaning closer running her long painted nails through his hair. Hauk knew what this meant, hotel… not really. This was a whorehouse and obviously one Snake was all too familiar with. Curiosity tugged at Hauk due to his utter distrust of the entire situation since they had pulled up outside the building.

"How are we paying?"

Plissken stopped stretching and glared at Hauk. He could see the displeasure in the man's eye but the hands working down to his shoulder seemed to sooth away the predatory look.

"Protection and we got other things they want." Plissken's words seemed both to be a flat statement and a taunt of some kind hidden behind his indifference. The commissioner could understand the bit about protection but it was the second part of his comment that drew the most attention. Hauk didn't trust this lounging tiger or his disinterest.

"What other things?" Inwardly, Hauk cringed unsure if he really wanted Plissken to answer. It was one of those moments when reason demanded an answer that it didn't wish to hear.

Plissken slid up against the arm of the sofa staring at Hauk with that blank aloof look Hauk had grown to despise. A cocky smirk spread across his face as Plissken lazily dangled his leg over the side of the couch. Dread filled the pit of Hauk's stomach. He didn't often see Snake smile and now he wished to see it even less. The look was worse then the hate filled stares Plissken had shot in his direction on occasion. Hauk knew the game Plissken was playing. It was the same one he always pulled and it never ceased to annoy him right down to the very core of his being. Hauk hated when other people had information he didn't know and wanted.

Hauk returned to his food unwilling to play Snake's game and finally, he gave up his secret.

"Right Here!" Plissken accentuated the words and Hauk looked up to see him grab his crotch.

The words froze Hauk in mid-bite. It wasn't possible. Bob searched Snake's face for a sign that he was being evasive and unnecessarily challenging as usual but his expression seemed serious.

Snake's expression darkened before Hauk's eyes and he wondered what the loose canon before him was thinking behind that one piercing, deadly eye. Suddenly, his lips fell to a grimace and he slammed his empty glass down on the small table near the couch.

"You're too uptight. You don't like it? FINE! Go outside and die. I don't give a fuck."

With that and a snarling hiss that could only be described as animalistic, Plissken was on his feet and out the door. Hauk looked at the woman who gave him a seductive and all too inviting smile before she trailed Plissken from the room.

Hauk set the plate aside and sat back trying to swallow the situation he was now in. He had never had to deal with an environment like this or his lack of authority and control over his position. The only thing Hauk was certain of was how little he knew about surviving in the world that Plissken seemed to thrive in. As disconcerting as it was, it seemed to Hauk from now on this would be his world too.


	5. Delusional Old Man

  
Snake watched Hauk nursing the drink. Something was wrong but Plissken didn't care enough to ask. The man was his enemy a few days ago and God only knew it took longer then that to forgive someone for loading your neck up with explosives.

"Did you really see him?" Hauk questioned without looking up from his drink.

Snake threw him a dirty look. "I told you I did."

"Good to know Jerry's doing good." Hauk commented.

Snake flinched as he remembered the hand falling to the ground. It was Hauk's boy's hand. Plissken quivered with the knowledge but kept up the lies.

"He'll be fine. Even more so now that the Duke's gone." Plissken was piling the bullshit deeper but he needed Hauk to shut up about it.

"Probably right, Plissken." Hauk smiled and looked up finishing off his drink.

Snake couldn't look at him. Snake and Hauk were barely friends, more tenuous enemies. The friendship was solely based on the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Both men understood that but Snake still felt bile rise in his throat every time he talked about Jerry.

"Maybe they'll shut that Godforsaken place down."

Snake nodded and stood up. "Jerry's liable to be dead before that happens but at least you know he isn't suffering in there."

Snake was close to admitting that Jerry was dead. Hauk didn't catch on and went on through his delusion.

"Knowing he's safe is good enough." Hauk stood up and looked at Snake. "Where to now?"

"South." Plissken commented tossing a few blue backs on the bar. "Still got a chance to get Cronenberg." 


End file.
